Rough Winds
by kayfanatik
Summary: Updated. only took me 5 years. Peyton is the center of everyone's pain.
1. Default Chapter

Summary: Tragedies strike the town of Tree Hill and deeply effect two main characters. Will they be torn away from each other by their families, or will their love grow stronger throughout the hostilities?  
  
Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be unfortunately.  
  
"So, that's why Andrew Jackson made the Cherokee Indians travel the Trail of Tears."  
  
"Wow, I'm impressed. You've really been improving, Nathan. I have to say, I really think these sessions are starting to pay off, don't you agree?"  
  
Nathan glanced up from his history paper to gaze into Haley's chocolate brown eyes. God was she beautiful.  
  
"Oh I definitely agree, Miss Haley. I think the more time I spend with you, the more you rub off on me." he grinned.  
  
Haley blushed violently. "Oh, I don't know if that's necessarily a good thing, Nathan."  
  
Nathan reached for her hand. "Don't be modest, Haley. You are an amazing person."  
  
"Really?" She pushed back a tress of hair behind her ears. "You think so?"  
  
Nathan leaned in closely. Haley could feel his hot breath on her lips. "I know so."  
  
Haley closed her eyes and brought her lips closer to his.  
  
RING RING RING  
  
"Damn it!"  
  
Haley groaned as she flapped her hand on the dreaded alarm clock. It was 4:00 in the morning on a Saturday. Why did good dreams always have to be ruined by unwanted wake up calls? She flipped back on her backside and put a pillow over her head, desperately trying to obtain the memory of the dream and replay it back over in her head.  
  
"Come on, come on!" she pleaded with her memory, but it was useless.  
  
Sighing with frustration and anger, Haley threw the covers onto her left side and swung her body off the bed. She shivered as her small feet felt the cold hard wooden floor beneath them. Rubbing her eyes, she made found her way to the open door of her bathroom.  
  
"God, what a beauty queen I am. How could someone like Nathan Scott like someone as homely looking as me?" She mumbled to herself as she stared back at her reflection wearily.  
  
"He doesn't. He's just having fun messing around with your prudent little head. God, Haley, get with the program, Nathan doesn't like you, Lucas didn't and doesn't even like you! Get over yourself!" her reflection replied.  
  
Haley shook her head, "Wow, way too early in the morning to be thinking about things like this!"  
  
"God, I will have to get over myself.I have a little brother or sister on the way, I need to stop being so self centered." She thought to herself and she swore she saw her reflection wink at her.  
  
She yawned and creeped back to her bed and slowly drifted back to sleep, hoping for the wonderful dream to engulf her again.  
  
*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~  
  
Later that Morning  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Lucas, honey, will you wipe that table off for me real quick? I have to make a phone call."  
  
Lucas gave his mother the evil eye, but then laughed. "Of course Ma, anything for you."  
  
Karen's eyes sparkled with laughter as she picked up the phone and dialed Keith's number.  
  
"Keith? Hi it's me. Why don't you come down and keep me company, unless you are working today..Great, ok, see you in a bit."  
  
Lucas stared over at Karen, still wiping the same table. "What was that about?"  
  
"Oh nothing.. I just asked Keith to head over for a cup of coffee, that's all. Oh, good morning Haley."  
  
The café door shut with a crisp snap. Haley looked horrendous. Her hair was scraggily around her shoulders, it was evident that she had not brushed it. Her eyes had blue heavy bags under them, and her cheeks were pale. She looked so exhausted.  
  
"Morning, Karen, Lucas." She sighed wearily as she stepped behind the counter.  
  
"Hal, what's up?" Lucas asked concerned.  
  
"What? Oh, you mean, why do I look like I woke up in a dumpster today? I had a really good dream and I happened to wake up during it at four o'clock in the morning.I didn't exactly get back to sleep that easily."  
  
Lucas grinned and put his arm around her, "This dream didn't have anything to do with.um.me hooking up with Peyton, did it?"  
  
Haley pushed him away. "No, and why would that be a really good dream for me? to see my best friend hook up with some depressed and lonely cheerleader? Of course it wouldn't be about you, wither..you make my life a living hell!" she joked.  
  
Lucas feigned a look of deep pain. "Haley. How could you? Me? Make your life a living hell? Never!"  
  
She rolled her eyes. Lucas tapped her gently on the shoulder and smiled.  
  
"Oh God, I don't think I can stand the anticipation! The baby should be coming any day now!" Haley exclaimed.  
  
Lucas looked at her =, then her tummy. "Hal, you're not pregnant are you?"  
  
"No silly, her mother!" Karen laughed. "By the way, how is she doing? Did she enjoy the baby shower that we threw for her?"  
  
"Of course she loved the baby shower! And she's doing great, just a couple more weeks or two. I can't wait! Having a baby brother or sister will be good practice for when I want a little one."  
  
"Just make sure you don't go jumping to have one just yet." Karen warned.  
  
Lucas and Haley laughed.  
  
The door opened in the coffee shop. Lucas's face fell when he saw who it was.  
  
"Nathan. What are you doing here?" Haley asked.  
  
Nathan, who was wearing his usual get-up that consisted of his letterman jacket and blue jeans, looked devastated. He was out pf breath. "Haley, I need to talk to you, it's urgent!"  
  
Lucas stepped in front of Haley. "Why do you have to see her? Do you need help on your homework? Because if you do, too bad, she's off duty at the moment." He growled.  
  
"Lucas, back off will you? Who ever made you my boss? Yes, Nathan, in fact, let's go somewhere more private to talk." Haley glanced at Lucas with anger in her eyes. Lucas glared right back at her, then at Nathan.  
  
"So, what is it?" Haley asked Nathan when they were both outside.  
  
Nathan didn't say anything, he just stared down at his blue Nikes.  
  
"Well? Nathan, are you going to tell me?"  
  
"I.Haley.there is something you need to know. I'm so so sorry." He said slowly.  
  
"Nathan..what's going on, you look terrible, where have you just been?." Haley pushed on.  
  
Nathan paused. "Haley, I just came from high street right across from the school. There was an accident, Haley. A bad one. It was a head on collision, this one car was driving on the correct side of the double lines, but then another car came swerving out of control and crossed the double line."  
  
Haley gasped. "Oh god! Were they ok? I mean the drivers?"  
  
Nathan's eyes dropped to his feet again. "No Haley, the drivers weren't alright. In fact, one was killed and one wasn't pronounced dead at the scene, but he didn't look too good. Haley.."  
  
"So how did it happen? Was it a drunk driver that crossed the lines? Was he the idiot who was killed?"  
  
Nathan's eyes welled up with tears. "No Haley the driver who crossed the double lines wasn't drunk..she was in labor."  
  
Haley looked confused. "She was in labor? Oh god, who was it? Do we know both the drivers? Wait, the woman was killed? And the baby? That's horrible, I hope the man is-"  
  
"Haley! Listen to me. The man who was rushed to the hospital is my Uncle Keith! And the woman..Haley the woman was.."  
  
Haley's eyes widened. She understood why now. She understood why he was telling her this, she knew and she didn't want to know any more.  
  
"No.NO! No, I don't believe it.I don't believe it!"  
  
"Haley, your mother was the one who-"  
  
"I SAID I DON'T BELIEVE IT, DAMNIT! Leave me alone!" Haley pushed Nathan hard and sped off for the school.  
  
"HALEY!" Nathan shouted after her.  
  
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Hey, you like? I hope you do because I do! Review!!! 


	2. Declaration

A/N:  
Hey guys, thanks for all the reviews.hope to get as many this chapter..thanks for being so patient!  
  
"Nathan? What's wrong, what happened?" Karne asked coming out of the store.  
  
"Where's Haley? What did you do to her?" demanded Lucas. Nathan who was in tears just looked at him harshly.  
  
"I told her that her mother was killed in a car crash."  
  
"Karen stared at him. "I don't understand, why would you just tell her that?"  
  
"Because her mother was killed in a head on collision," he explained. Karen put her hands to her mouth. Lucas looked to the ground.  
  
"Man, how do you know this?"  
  
"My uncle was involved with the crash, I saw it happen." Replied Nathan in an undertone.  
  
"Oh god! Keith! Is he okay?" Karen asked immediately.  
  
"I don't know. Look, call my mom, I already called my dad, but he probably didn't have the decency to get a hold of her. I'm sorry that I had to be the one to tell you, but I got to go find Haley. I'm afraid about what she'll do. my unlce is at the hospital obviously, please go!" Nathan said.  
  
With that, he bolted to find Haley.  
  
"Yo! I'm coming, too!" Lucas called after him.  
  
"Whatever man! Just hurry up!"  
  
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"Daddy? Hi, um, can I speak to Mommy? No Dad, I don't want to come home, I just want to talk to Mom. Give me Mom, Dad! No, no! don't say that to me, I just want you to tell me where she is so I can go talk to her." Haley cried over the phone in the phone booth. "No don't tell me that! I don't believe you!" she screamed and she slammed the phone down in frustration, tears poured down her face. Haley dropped to the ground and sat in a fetal position, her head in her hands.  
  
"Haley!"  
  
She glanced up. She saw Lucas and Nathan running toward her.  
  
"Haley," Lucas panted, "Oh Haley." He put his comforting arm around her and held her. Nathan just watched.  
  
"Lucas, I don't understand. I don't want it to be true, just tell me it's not true!" Haley whispered.  
  
Lucas and Nathan just looked at each other with pained faces. They didn't know what to say to her. Still crying, she snuggled her pale wet face into Lucas's chest and grabbed Nathan's hand. Nathan was taken by surprise, but of course didn't yank away.  
  
"I want my Mommy," she sighed and drifted off to sleep.  
  
"We should take her to the hospital." Suggested Lucas.  
  
Nathan nodded and carefully picked her up.  
  
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"So, how is she Doctor? What can we do to help her?" asked Lucas anxiously. Haley was in a room, lying pitifully on a gurney. She was still sleeping.  
  
"Well, she's been through a lot. It all depends on her now, I mean, the way she was told could have put extra stress on her." The doctor glanced at Nathan. "And the fact that her mother was pregnant doesn't help."  
  
"Okay, but you think she'll be okay in the long run?"  
  
The doctor sighed. "Like I said, it'll be up to her. She's a strong person, but I'm afraid that the news has been too traumatic for her. But as long as she's in good company, I think she'll find her way back to being normal."  
  
The doc smiled and quickly left. Nathan looked at Lucas. "So, her father is on his way?"  
  
Lucas nodded, "Yeah, first he has to identify the body though to really make sure that it is Mrs. James. Then he can come and take care of Haley."  
  
Nathan peered in to look at Haley. He winced when he saw her shriveled up on the gurney. "Well, hey, we should go check on Uncle Keith. See how the family is doing. And your mom."  
  
~!~~!~!~!~!~  
  
"Oh thank god!" Karen shouted when she saw Lucas.  
  
"Mom! How's Keith?" Lucas asked.  
  
Nathan ran up to Deb and Dan. "Yeah, how is he, Dad?"  
  
At that moment, a doctor by the name of T. Walters strode in.  
  
"Doctor Walters, how's my brother?" Dan asked immediately.  
  
"The doctor looked solemn, but answered truthfully. "Mr. Scott has severe closed head injuries. We've taken him down for an MRI to scan for any other fractures that we've missed. He did, however, fracture his lower lumbar disk on his back as well as his femur bone. He is lucky that nothing was damaged in his abdominal region or chest region."  
  
Dan's face got red. "Lucky? You call this lucky?" he sputtered in anger.  
  
"No, of course I don't!" T. Walters tried to reason.  
  
"Now you listen up, Thomas. You had better take care of my brother, or there will be nothing lucky about your career!" Dan spat.  
  
T. Walters spun on his heels and strode out the door.  
  
"Dan, this is no time to get angry at doctors, ok? They are just trying to help." Deb soothed.  
  
Dan calmed and nodded. "Yes, you're absolutely right. The doctors aren't to blame."  
  
Lucas and Nathan looked at their father. Their father glared back at them.  
  
"No, I know who's to blame. I declare war on the James' family!"  
  
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A/N: Yeah,..so like Dan to blame everything on everyone else. Oh well. Hey, there's a plot twister that I thought would be sorta cool, so hang in there with me and review! Next chapter: Haley wakes up..Lucas and Nate are in for a big surprise! Dan starts destroying lives..REVIEW! 


	3. Forget us not

Hey, I know, things got a little extreme in the last chapter, but I needed something to ignite the fire!  
  
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Haley, who was still asleep on the gurney, started getting restless. "No...Nathan, No, NATHAN!" she screamed and she bolted out from the covers. Haley glanced around the small dark room. It reeked of depression and pain.  
  
"Oh god. Oh my god!" she yelled.  
  
A doctor rushed into her room to assist her. "Miss James! Miss James, please, calm down!"  
  
"Where am I? Who are you? Why am I here?" she asked frantically.  
  
"Miss James, you are in the hospital, I'm Dr. Burbanks, you're not hurt, just going through a traumatic time right now. Your mother and baby brother were killed this after noon in a car accident, I'm so sorry." He explained softly.  
  
Haley went tense. "Why do you keep calling me Miss James? My mother and baby brother, killed? Do I have a mother? A baby brother? Are you sure you have the right person?"  
  
The doctor paused. "Miss, please, you have to wait here. Okay? Just wait here." He quickly left the room.  
  
"I don't understand. What's going on? Who am I?"  
  
She pulled the covers off her body and set her bare feet on the cold, hard tile of the room. A chill swept through her body and she shivered. She paced to the door, looking both ways to see where the doctor had gone. He was no where in sight. Haley slinked out of the room and tip toed down the white halls of the hospital.  
  
Hearing shouts from around the corner, she pressed herself up against the wall.  
  
"Dad! Stop this right now! It wasn't anyone's fault! For god sakes, the woman was pregnant and in labor!" Haley heard a young man's voice.  
  
"Bullshit," said Dan, "My brother is still in that room suffering!"  
  
"While two people are dead and gone!" Lucas shouted. This was almost too much for Lucas to endure. He knew his father was a cold heartless son of a bitch, but he never even fathomed that Dan could sink as low as to blame a woman in labor who now was dead, for the injuries of his very much alive brother. Lucas loved Keith, but he knew that if Keith was conscious, he wouldn't have blamed it on anyone.  
  
"Nathan, where is that James girl?" asked Dan quietly, but quite dangerously nonetheless.  
  
A pang in Haley's heart made her think..pregnant woman..James..they were talking about her supposed family!  
  
"She's still asleep in a room. In fact, I need to be heading back there right now." Nathan said coldly.  
  
"Absolutely not! You will never speak, acknowledge, or even look at that piece of low life filth ever again!" Dan spat.  
  
Nathan and Lucas snapped. They both ran to tackle their father.  
  
"Never," 'Punch,' "Say that about Haley," 'Punch,' "Ever again!" Lucas shouted.  
  
"Lucas, get off of your father!" Karen yelled.  
  
"Nathan, get off of him!" Deb also demanded.  
  
Lucas and Nathan shoved themselves off of their now bloody nosed father. "You two will pay for that" Dan spat, wiping his nose.  
  
"You know what, Dad? Bring it on. And the only low life filth in this whole picture is you," Nathan replied icily.  
  
Now was the time for Haley to reveal herself to this drama. Haley stepped out from around the corner.  
  
"No, please, let him call them low lives. I'm sure they are, if they did that to your brother." She said, confused.  
  
Everybody gasped. Nathan and Lucas rushed over to her.  
  
"Haley! Oh Haley." Lucas said. He embraced her warmly.  
  
"Who are you? Get off me, I don't know you! I don't know any of you!" she cried. She shoved a surprised Lucas off of her and sped for the exit.  
  
"Haley! Haley, come back!" Nathan cried.  
  
The chase was on again. Nathan and Lucas sped after her.  
  
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~  
  
"Yes, Mr. James. Your daughter, I must warn you, has what we call traumatic amnesia. She remembers nothing, not even who she is."  
  
Mr. William James was a tall lanky man with messy black hair. He was unshaven and poorly dressed. He truly looked disheveled and depressed. He took off his glasses and rubbed at his eyes.  
  
"Oh god. So how do I deal with this? What do I do?"  
  
"Well, there's really nothing that we can do to bring her memory back without the result of her going into some kind of shock. To keep the shock from being dangerous, we need to keep her in high spirits. You and family and friends need to surround her with care and love."  
  
William nodded. "Of course. Anything to help her. But how long will this last?"  
  
The doctor shook his head. "It can last from five minutes to a month. We really can't determine the length of her amnesia."  
  
"Okay, okay. Can I see her?"  
  
"Of course, right this way."  
  
The pair of exhausted men walked quickly to Haley's room.  
  
"Miss James, your father's her-" he stopped.  
  
The room was empty.  
  
~!~!~!~!~!~!~~!~!~!~!~!~!~  
  
"Dan, Dan, calm down. Just calm yourself, okay?" Deb said, running his back.  
  
"Yes, please. You know, I can honestly tell you, if Keith was awake, he would thoroughly disapprove of your behavior and "disapprove" is an understatement." Karen said, looking Dan straight in the eyes. He said nothing.  
  
"Deb, do you want to go with me and get some coffee?" Karen asked.  
  
"Yes, I'd love to." Deb replied.  
  
She turned to leave when Dan grabbed a hold of her arm tightly. Deb glared at him and shook his hand off. He watched the two women with anger and malice.  
  
"You have no idea how disapproving and disappointing my behavior really is, Karen. You just wait.."  
  
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A/N: okay. You like? Review!!!! And I'll update faster..maybe. I need at least 6 reviews to update fast. Next chapter: Lucas and Nathan find Haley in a dangerous situation; Dan heads home, planning his evil scandal, Deb talks to Karen about divorce. 


	4. Where this hell is she?

A/N: Hey, Omg, I'm sooooo sorry for the delay! My computer got this virus or whatever and it had to be taken some where and fixed. My original draft of the next chapter was erased, so it took me a little while to retype it.please please enjoy and sorry again!  
  
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"Hales! Haley James, stop!" Lucas cried after the sprinting figure.  
  
Haley kept running. She didn't know where to go, what to do. All she focused on was getting away from there and those people. She had to get far away.  
  
Nathan, who was running behind Lucas had a burst of energy and rushed past Lucas.  
  
Haley ran in the middle of the open road, and unbeknownst to her, right in front of a car.  
  
"Haley!" Nathan and Lucas called out.  
  
She stopped and froze. Nathan sped up and at the last second he pushed Haley away from the speeding vehicle. They both landed on the ground with a Thud.  
  
"Nate! Nathan! Are you guys okay? Is she alright?" Lucas called.  
  
Nathan was trying to keep Haley on the ground. She struggled with him.  
  
"Haley, Haley, I'm your friend, Haley! You've got to remember me! Please, just let me help you and calm down!" Nathan pleaded.  
  
Haley calmed a little and loosened her muscles as Nathan held her gently.  
  
"That's it, Haley. Just hold on to me," Nathan sighed with relief.  
  
"Nathan, Nathan, why can't I remember anything? I can't remember who I am, who you are and who he is." She gestured over to the panting Lucas.  
  
"Haley..please." Lucas said softly between breaths.  
  
"Why am I here? I just don't understand anything."  
  
Lucas sighed. "Haley, you were at the hospital because-"  
  
Nathan put a hand on Lucas's shoulder. Nathan motioned for Lucas to follow him for a word.  
  
"We'll be right back Haley, just over there." Lucas said. Haley nodded understandingly.  
  
"Hey, so what's going on?" Lucas asked.  
  
"I don't think it's a good idea to tell her about her mother and little brother. I don't know why, I just don't think we should be the ones to tell her.again." Nathan explained.  
  
Lucas nodded. "Yeah, you're right. We better get back to the hospital."  
  
The boys turned around to tell Haley the plan...but she was gone.  
  
"Shit!" they both cried.  
  
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!  
  
"Oh Karen, how do you do it?"  
  
Deb and Karen had headed down to the café in the hospital. They sat down heavily at an empty table, both had a steaming cup of joe in hand.  
  
"Do what?" Karen asked after she took her first sip.  
  
"Raise Lucas on your own?"  
  
Karen sighed and thought for a minute. "To be honest, Deb, I have no idea. I always used to think that Lucas didn't need anyone but me, his mother. But now that he's getting older, it's getting harder and harder. He yearns for a man in the family, I can see it in his eyes when he talks to me. for him, it's getting harder to talk to me because I'm a woman. He needs testosterone to bond with."  
  
Deb understood. "Yes, well I think Nathan is surrounded by too much testosterone. Oh, Karen, I don't know what to do about Dan. I've been with him almost 17 years, but I think I only loved him for about 6. Everyday it gets harder to stand his bullshit. I'm getting to the point where I should pack up and leave, taking Nate with me. But, Nathan is almost a man. He'll be 18 in less than 2 years; he needs his father. " she sighed wistfully.  
  
The two women sat in silence.  
  
"Don't you ever get scared of Dan?" Karen asked Deb.  
  
"Of course I do. Especially when he gets in competition fights with Nathan. They both scare the hell out of me."  
  
"Then why do you put up with that?"  
  
Deb shrugged. "I don't really know. I guess I don't say much because I'm all by myself in that aspect. I'm not one to speak for myself." Karen didn't say anything. Then she coughed.  
  
"Oh Deb, maybe you should leave Dan. Maybe you should file for divorce. It seems like the best thing from my point of view."  
  
"Oh no, I couldn't," Deb gasped, "he'd kill me!"  
  
"What do you mean, "he'd kill you?" he hasn't threatened or hit you, has he?"  
  
Deb shook her head violently. "Oh, no, not like that. It's just that, you know Dan. He'd find a way to cast some kind of revenge on me. I couldn't divorce him. Not yet at least."  
  
Karen nodded. "You want to wait until Nathan gets out of high school."  
  
Deb looked down at her half empty coffee cup. "Yeah I suppose I do. And then I won't have an excuse for staying with Dan, waiting for the man of my dreams to show his face again."  
  
Karen reached over the table and grasped Deb's cold, clammy hand.  
  
!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~  
  
"Where the hell could she be?"  
  
Doctors and nurses were going ballistic looking frantically for the missing James girl.  
  
"Where is my daughter, damn it? I thought you said that she was secure!"  
  
Dr. Burbanks was about to faint. He had never once lost a patient...in this sense.  
  
"Sir, I don't know where she could be, but I need you to calm down. I'm sure she'll be alright." The doctor lied.  
  
William was taken aback "You said she could go through a traumatic shock if we don't find her..how traumatic could it be?" he asked dangerously.  
  
The doctor gulped. He hesitated. "Mr. James, be reasonable, I'm sure she-"  
  
William lunged for the doctor and slammed him against the wall. "Tell me! What could happen to her?"  
  
"If we don't find her soon, if it's not already too late, she could go into a catatonic state, or go into some sort of a state where she could be totally reckless and get herself killed!" Burbanks managed to spit out quickly. "We have to find her! I'm calling the police!" William said, lowering the doctor.  
  
"It's already been done, sir."  
  
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"I don't believe it, Keith. I really don't believe that you're like this, you can't wake up. I need you to just wake up and tell me what I should do about this situation with the James' family. I know you'd want me to do something about it."  
  
Dan was next to the peaceful looking Keith. He grabbed his brother's broken hand fiercely.  
  
"Yes, I'll avenge you. I have just the plan."  
  
Dan's eyes glowed with anger and malice, like he was possessed.  
  
"I'll find her..I'll kill her!"  
  
!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~  
  
A/N: Okay, it was as good or put together as well as the first draft, but I guess this will do. next chapter: Keith wakes up! Dan's gone missing, Haley gets attacked...review! 


	5. Awakenings

Author's note: Hey guys...sorry for the long ass wait. I had some family tragedies that left me uninspired to write, but now that everything has quieted down a bit, and it's summer vaca, I'll give it a shot. Bear with me.

"Mmm....."

Keith was starting to stir. He started to become aware of his surroundings...his state that he was in and the pain. Oh the pain was almost unbearable. His eyes slowly fluttered open, and he breathed in painfully.

No one was there to see him wake. Keith remembered very little of the accident, but he remembered the screams and the screech of the metal on metal of the cars. Lifting his hand gently to his forehead, he vaguely remembered the sharp pain from the snap of his neck being whip lashed and the force of it that smashed his head into the windshield.

"Oh god...Keith!"

Keith slowly lifted his head so he could see the owner of the voice. Standing in the doorway of his room holding a steaming cup of coffee was Karen. God, she looked beautiful, he thought.

Karen migrated toward him quietly and cautiously. "Keith, oh Keith!" She gently grasped his hand with her own cold hand. Keith sighed and closed his eyes as she stroked his hair lovingly.

"Glad you could rejoin the land of the living. We were so worried about you." Karen started.

"Where are the others?" he asked her.

Karen paused. "Well, Deb is in the bathroom and Luke and Nathan are searching for Haley. Dan, well, you know how Dan is. He comes and goes as he pleases."

Keith looked confused. "The boys are looking for Haley? Is she missing?"

"Actually yes, she is. Keith, I don't know how to say this, but the car who slammed into your car was Mrs. James."

There was silence between the two. "She's dead, isn't she. And the baby." Keith declared softly.

Karen could only nod.

"Haley! Haley, listen, if you can hear us, just let us know that you are okay!"

It had been an hour since Haley had run off. Nathan and Lucas were still frantically searching for their lost friend.

Haley heard the voices screaming after her. They were way to close. She couldn't be found. If she were found, she'd have to go back and face the life that she couldn't remember.

Haley slipped further into the shadows of the trees she was hiding behind. She was very close to the school, and she saw yellow police caution tape running from the center of the road and the woods. She shuddered as she felt a connection and a hint of a memory surge through her body... "Your mother and brother were killed, in a head on collision..."

Haley shook her head to clear her thoughts. No, she was wrong...that wasn't a lost memory...was it? She glanced at the yellow tape again. No, she thought...it was just some thing that was bothering her. She wished she could remember who she was; she wracked her brain over and over again...she just couldn't remember.

"I need to find out who I am! WHO AM I?" she screamed into the night.

"Haley? Haley is that you?" a voice called out.

Haley started to run again. How stupid of you, girl, she thought to herself. Whoever these people were, she needed to get rid of them so she could think.

!

"Lucas...wait up! I can't do this anymore. She'll eventually come back to us, and she'll remember everything!" Tim wailed.

Lucas stopped and turned to face Tim as well as the rest of the group. Nate glanced at him nervously.

"Fine. Go. Just go, I'm sick of your whining and crying, if you can't handle this anymore, then just get the hell out of here. That goes for the rest of you people. If you are sick of looking for a girl who is an amnesiac, who is helpless in everyway, who you know needs our help...then go. You are of no use here." Luke breathed.

Nathan gaped at each individual who was standing there. Not one of them dared to move. In fact, they seemed to try to waken and energize themselves for more searching. Nate chuckled to himself: he always knew Luke was the convincing one.

"Let's go then."

"WHO AM I? WHO AM I?"

The boys stopped and looked around.

"That was Haley..."Nathan said.

"Haley! Haley, where are you?" Lucas screamed. The yelling automatically stopped. 'Damn,' he swore to himself.

!!!!!!!!!!!

"Oh Keith! We were all so worried about you!" Deb cried as she swooped over and hugged him.

"Oh, Deb, I'm glad you are here!" Keith said weakly. "I'll be okay, it'll only be a couple of days in this bed and I'm outta this joint."

Deb looked solemn. "Keith, you really got the bad one. You're so banged up, I'm sure they'll want you in for another couple of weeks or so."

Keith waved her comment off like it was nothing. "Nah, we Scott brothers have superhuman healing powers. I'll be out of here in no time. Speaking of the Scott brothers...where are all of them?"

Karen looked at Deb, warning her not to say anything about her and Dan. "Well, Keith, Lucas and Nathan are out trying to find Haley."

Keith's stare grew intense. "What do you mean, trying to find Haley. Where has she gone?"

"Well, you know that Haley was told that her mother and her baby brother were both killed in that accident...it was so much trauma on her behalf, that she now has a case of amnesia. She ran off, and Lucas and Nathan are out looking for her." Karen said.

Keith lowered his head in disbelief. "I can't believe this. How incredibly horrible for Haley. I can't imagine."

Deb sighed. "Yes, it is terrible. Keith..." she hesitated, "Dan is absolutely going berserk. He's saying how he's going to declare war on the James' family to avenge you. Keith, he's no where to be found..."

Keith's body dropped a degree in temperature. He knew that Dan would be serious if he said he wanted to hurt someone or other people. There was a side to Dan that no one else knew of, except for Keith. "Deb...Find Dan. Find him, NOW!"

!!!!!

'I think I lost them!' Haley thought to herself. She had no idea where she was; it looked like she was at the entrance of some sort of café. Karen's Café...

She looked across the street and saw a stray dog chasing after a plastic bag that was dancing playfully in the wind. It was so random. She felt so random.

Suddenly out of no where, a strong hand clamped down around her mouth.

"Don't move, or I will snap your neck in half..."

!!!!!!!

Next chapter: Lucas and Nathan find Haley...will she be all right? Dan is still missing...


	6. stranger revised

" Stop, please! Let me go, what have I done?"

The stranger squeezed Haley tighter. Haley stopped struggling. Maybe if she had stopped, the stranger would be easier to deal with. Haley was being shuffled away to what should have been a very familiar place, but Haley's lack of memory blocked any connections she could have made. The stranger opened the door of Nate's house. Haley was thrown to the ground. Her anguished sobs were getting louder and more frequent.

"Shut up! Shut up or I will shut you up!"

"Please, what have I done?" Haley cried.

Haley felt a heavy hand strike her tear-laden face. Crying harder, Haley tried to crawl her way over to the nearby couch. The stranger leapt from the floor to hinder Haley's movement. Haley flew through the air and landed hard on her back on a wood table.

"Now you will listen to me, you little whore. You are going to be quiet, be cooperative and follow me. You make one move"-the stranger pulled out a gun, "and you will die."

Haley gasped and nodded. She struggled as duct tape muffled her screams. Her hands were bound behind her back. Haley got up willingly and followed this person in the dark. It was odd how this man was dressed. The stranger's tight, black pants and a black tank top screamed 'wash me' and the stranger's mask was oddly shaped at the base of the nape. Haley shivered as a surge of realization hit her. This was no man-it was a woman!

"Who are you" Haley asked through her tape-bound mouth. Instead of an answer, Haley was pushed violently on a bed. The woman turned on a light and slowly pulled her mask off. Frizzy golden hair fell onto the woman's shoulders. Her piercing blue eyes stared down at Haley coldly.

"You don't recognize me, do you?" the woman asked Haley.

Haley stared blankly at the small blonde. She tried to search through her memory as best as possible to find the identity of her, but to no avail. She shrugged as tears still streamed down her already drenched face.

The Blonde smiled and bent down to look Haley in the eyes. "No, you don't recognize me. You should." The woman ripped the tape off of Haley's chapped lips. She cried out in pain as she tasted blood off of her mouth.

"You can call me 'Friend.' Because that's what I am going to be to you for the rest of your life. Hopefully that won't be too much longer."

Haley's eyes widened with fear. "Are you going to kill me?"

Friend laughed as she swept back her curly hair back into a ponytail.

"No, Sweets, You're going to kill you."

"What do you mean? Why would I want to kill myself?" Haley asked, trembling.

The blonde girl frowned. "After I'm done telling you what you've done and what you deserve, you'll want to die."

"God, I thought I just heard her screaming…and now she's nowhere to be found!"

Lucas was on the phone with Karen. The boys had taken a break at the park where they thought Haley had screamed. Getting up from the picnic table, Nate started to text a dear friend of his. Peyton had moved to Miami for an art prep school.

'Peyton, Haley's mom is dead with baby, Haley is missing, Uncle Keith is in a coma and Dad's going berserk. Need to talk to you, call me please.'

Nate hit send on his cellular. He looked around to find Lucas, who had just hung up with his mother.

"Well, what now? Where do we look?" Nate asked.

Lucas shrugged his shoulders. He couldn't think of what places they hadn't searched.

"I think, Nate, it's to the point where we'll have to start making visits to everyone's houses that we can think of," a voice piped up. It was Jake, who was sweaty and concerned. His hair was askew, he hadn't looked like he was really good enough to go on. It was odd, his voice was so determined and not tired.

Lucas and Nate looked at one another. It was a good idea and the only one that had sprung up since the break.

"Okay, good idea, Jake. We'll split up, one group with me, the other with Lucas. Jake, Brian, Matt, Drew, you come with me, Tim, Shay and Jamal, head off with Luke. Keep your eyes open and your cell phones on. We'll head south!"

"We'll go east. Let's go!" Lucas stated.

Dan paced around his house crazily. "My brother, I must do it for my big brother. I'll find that girl and her father and kill them. I'll just kill her!"

There was a knock on the door. Dan stopped walking around and glared at it. He turned for the basement door. He couldn't be found. Growling with pain as his head hit the light bulb, Dan grabbed a black coat and gloves. He had to find them.


	7. darkness

Peyton couldn't stand doing this to Haley, but she had to do this to save her own skin. Haley had to die. Peyton had to cover up what she had done…what she had done to Mrs. James.

Peyton found out about Mrs. James and her father a year ago. It was a huge affair, no one new about the two. No one but Peyton. She stumbled upon them when she was supposed to be on a trip to New York with the rest of the freshmen class. She, Brooke, and Nathan had stayed behind to do some partying on their own. Peyton's dad was never home because of work, so they all decided to crash at her place.

Peyton shooed her two friends when she saw her dad's car in the driveway. She crept around the whole house to see where her father was so he didn't catch her home. And that is when she saw them. A naked woman was on her mother's bed in her father's arms. Peyton almost vomited at the sight. This woman, this snake of a woman was having sex with her father. A streak of strong disgust and jealousy slashed through Peyton. Her father never came home to see her, but he was home making love to a strange woman? She was his daughter, and he specifically came home when she was supposed to be gone to FUCK this woman!

Peyton shook her to clear the awful memory away. She had to finish this.

"Haley, you killed your mother."

She looked down at the beaten girl who remembered nothing. Duct tape was still smashed on Haley's mouth, and tears were still streaming down her face. Peyton's heart hardened.

"Haley, you have to die. You must pay what you did to your family." Peyton bent down to tear the tape off of the scared girl's mouth.

"I..I don't know what you mean…" she sputtered.

"Haley, you caught your mother cheating on your father. You found out that she was pregnant with another man's bastard child, and you killed her."

Haley frantically shook her head. "I didn't…I didn't! I couldn't have done such a thing!"

Peyton's eyes flashed with anger. "Just accept that you are a murder and you deserve to die! You cut your mother's brakes causing her to lose control of her car and DIE!" she shrieked insanely.

~~!Flashback~~!

Peyton had found out about the pregnancy before her father. She had been watching Mrs. James from a distance, and had followed her to a restaurant where she was meeting a friend.

"Donna, I don't know what I have done. I just don't know what to do! I can't afford an abortion- I don't think I could even bring myself to have one if I could afford one!"

Peyton strained her ears. _Abortion? _

Donna's eyes widened. "Oh Lydia…please tell me this is William's child. Please, please tell me it's not _his_!

Lydia looked ashen. She swallowed hard. "It's Larry's."

Peyton, tears streaming down her face, ran out of the restaurant, not caring about the waitress she ran into.

~!~!Present~!~!

Peyton never really planned to go on with it. She never really thought she was going to sneak into the James' garage. Peyton didn't think she was actually going to use those wire clippers to cut the brake lines of the Toyota Corrolla that belonged to _her_. She never expected Lydia to come rushing out of the house- in labor and get into the car. No. Never in Peyton's worst dreams did she imagine that she would become a murderer in 6 minutes of insanity.

Haley looked up at the crazy blonde. Slowly but surely, she started to recognize her captor. "Please, I know you. We're friends, right? Why are you doing this to me?"

Peyton froze. Haley's memory was coming back, and she had to act quickly. She grabbed Haley by the underarm, ignoring her pleas. The determined blonde threw Haley into the trunk of her car. She knew exactly where to go.

"We're going to go for a little swim, Haley. I think you'll recognize the spot…"

~~~~~~~!~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It seemed hopeless. Lucas, Nathan and the boys had been everywhere.

"Luke, maybe we should just head back to the hospital. No one has seen her anywhere- we might as well regroup."

Lucas hesitated. "Yeah, maybe. We just need to check out one more spot. If she's not there, we'll head back."

"Where you thinking about?"

"Molina bridge. I have a weird feeling she might be there. Let's do it."

A/N: Don't ask why I decided to continue with this story, I guess for my own satisfaction. It's still up after all these years, might as well try to finish it off


End file.
